


What Binds Us

by LindChives



Series: Promiseverse [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AUs, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Outertale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underlust (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Angst and Humor, Artistic Reader, Asexuality, Cover Art, Developing Friendships, Drama, Error is short, Established Relationship, Friendship, God Of Destruction Error, God of Creation Ink, Gods, Grief/Mourning, Humor, M/M, Multiverse, Multiverse-building, Nicknames, No Smut, POV Second Person, Phobias, Queerplatonic relationship, Scars, Secrets, Self-Doubt, Small bois & tall bois, Stalking, Survivor Guilt, Swearing, Tragedy/Comedy, Trauma, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Weirdness, Worldbuilding, adding tags as I go, art included, careful Sci, eating silverware, eventually, have fun with that, how do I even tag this unholy concoction of wtf, like really really short, ooh blackmail, reader is a pacifist, reader is a pack rat, reader is a trouble magnet, there be no sinnin here folks, touch hurts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25782697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindChives/pseuds/LindChives
Summary: Creation and Destruction. Positivity and Negativity. Life and Death. Virtue and Vice. Eight interwoven forces forever dancing around each other, working together, and against, to keep the Multiverse's Pulse in rhythm.That was, however, until the rhythm was broken. Something had changed. That something... was you.You are a human with a love for art and creativity. It was your love for those two things that led to you to discovering the popular game known as Undertale. With a bit of encouragement from your roommate, you had joined the craze and played. Never would you have thought that this game would have changed your life so much. What you had once thought was nothing more than purely fiction had become reality overnight.You are a human. You don't belong here.You are not a god.You are not Error.…But…"Promise?""I promise."Something isn't right.
Relationships: Error/Ink, Ink/Reader, Oort/Swan, Other relationships to be revealed, Sans & Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Series: Promiseverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2097429
Comments: 129
Kudos: 521





	1. ~Cover Art~

**Author's Note:**

> ↓Credits↓
> 
> Error!Sans  
> -Crayon Queen
> 
> Ink!Sans  
> -Comyet
> 
> Swap!Sans  
> -Popcornpr1nce
> 
> Dream & Nightmare  
> -Jokublog
> 
> Outer!Sans  
> -2mi127
> 
> Lust!Sans  
> -NSFWShamecave
> 
> Credits may potentially update as the story develops.
> 
> The original idea for (Forced) God of Destruction Error belongs to Harrish6.  
> Although this isn't the same Error, nor the same 'verse, they were still inspired by so it's only right to give credit.  
> I also give credit to the original creators of the various AU's found and/or mentioned in this fic. No AU belongs to me unless stated otherwise.
> 
> NOTE: This story is a WIP. Which means that the summary and tags could change at any time. In-story editing is also common. I apologize for any confusion that this may cause.

What Binds Us is also on Wattpad if you would prefer to read it there.

[here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/255301586-what-binds-us)

My Tumblr.

[here](https://lindchives.tumblr.com/)


	2. Interesting

White stretched in all directions. There was no sound. There were no shadows. There was just white with no color anywhere to be seen.

Or it seemed at first glance. 

You hummed as the clicking of your knitting needles filled the surrounding silence. Smiling, you add one last stitch to your newest creation. 

It was a doll roughly the size of your hand. You stared into its eyes for a moment before gently setting it off to the side. With a huff, you flopped onto your back and stared up at the colorless expanse above.

How long have you been here? You're not exactly sure, but it has been a very, _very_ long time. You still remember that fateful day you first appeared here in the Anti-Void…

...

Before you woke up here, you didn't really know much about Undertale nor its game. You've only ever played the Pacifist Route, and that was only once to satisfy your roommate's relentless enthusiasm about it. But you knew enough about the fanverse itself to understand the situation you were now in.

You had become something, some _one_ , who you had once thought was nothing more than a fictional character. You've became the infamous Destroyer of Worlds– Error Sans.

It was quite a shock, to say the least. Here you were living a fantasy only ever heard of in fanfiction. You couldn't believe it. In fact, it was so hard to believe that for a while you thought you had lost your mind and were experiencing some kind of vivid hallucination. Boy, if only that were truly the case. It would have made things a whole lot easier.

It took a bit of time for you to completely grasp what had happened. But once you did, you tried to make the best of it. Knitting, drawing, giving color to the white space you now call home. Anything to distract you from the fact that you were now in a foreign body, living a foreign life, and in a foreign 'verse you were never supposed to be a part of in the first place.

You didn't belong. You still don't belong.

And there's nothing you can do about it.

You are trapped here.

Forever.

… 

And, honestly? You were completely fine with that.

Okay, sure. You were hated by almost everyone in this god-forsaken Multiverse, and you also couldn't leave your Anti-Void without having some sort of attempt on your life, but, hey! It's not like there ain't some positives to all this! Such as, there's no people around to bother you anymore! You have much more time now to do the one thing you love to do more than anything else.

Create.

Ever since you were a child, you had always loved to express yourself through the use of creativity. Drawing, painting, knitting, writing, cooking, it doesn't matter. You'll do it. Creation is a part of you. It's who you are.

Too bad you're basically a god of destruction now. It seems that, when you came to this Multiverse, you had inherited the previous Error's job of destroying unneeded copies of AUs to help make room for more original ones. 

Yeahhhh... you haven't exactly done your _job_ since you got here. No, it's not because of laziness. It's just because you _refuse to do it._ You would rather do anything else than take another person's life, even if it's just copied code. You are a pacifist. It's simply not in your nature to hurt or cause misery.

So you've decided to just not do it.

Unfortunately for you, though, your continuous refusal to not do your assigned purpose has pissed off some rather... unwanted… company.

**_"You're so lazy."_ **

**_"Get up off your boney ass and do something!"_ **

**_"You need to go do your job, Error. You can't keep this up forever."_ **

**_"One day, you will have to destroy something. This ain't a matter of choice. There are real consequences to your lack of action."_ **

You closed your sockets and tried to block out the sound of the Voices. Your annoying little personal harassers who have been with you since day one. They get even more annoying when they bicker between themselves like children. The only true relief you get from them is when you periodically leave to go get supplies from Outertale.

Luckily for you, not all of them are complete assholes. Some of them you can actually tolerate.

**_"That's a very lovely doll you made, Error. Who is it for this time?"_ **

"Swan," you replied.

There was a sudden loud uproar among the Voices. Some of them were praising you, while others were chewing you out for creating something for 'that damn slut'. A small handful was trying to keep the peace between the two sides and were failing miserably. It soon became an all-out shouting match about whether or not it was wrong to slut-shame. Some of the meeker ones were even crying.

Overall, it was pretty chaotic.

You made a face and pulled yourself back into a sitting position. Guessing that the Voices would be going at it for a while, you opened up a one-way window and entertained yourself by watching some AUs. 

With a wave of your hand, you flipped through the "channels". Things seemed to be fairly quiet in the Multiverse and not much was going on. Not seeing anything interesting, you set the live-feed to a random AU. You weren't sure about the name of this one, but it was one of those where Frisk was a monster and everyone else were humans. 

You zoomed in on Frisk and Sans, who were walking through their version of Snowdin together. You watched them for a bit until you caught sight of a flash of yellow moving fast in the corner of your vision.

Raising a browbone, you paused the live-feed and rewind a bit. You slowed it down and replayed the scene once again. 

In the distance, you could make out what appeared to be a person in a lot of yellow sprinting between the trees. Tailing close behind the person were two others.

You blinked and readjusted your glasses with a small "huh".

That was… interesting. You have viewed this AU before. Many times in fact. It was always the same. But this? This was something _new._ This person in yellow didn't appear to be part of the scripted code.

Curiosity now piqued, you returned the view to live-feed. After a moment of consideration, you decided that you would track the yellow person down and find out what the heck was happening. It took a bit of time, but you located them, and boy howdy were you glad you did.

The three people you saw turned out to be skeletons, and ones that you recognized too.

Dream, Horror, and Dust.

The three were facing off against each other in a clearing. Dream on one side and the Dark Sanses on the other.

Then the battle began. 

Arrows, bones, and axes flew. A periodic blast from one of those skull-like cannon things tore up the earth and kicked up blankets of snow into the air.

You survey the battlefield before you with wide open sockets. At some point you opened up a portal and stole a milkshake and bowl of popcorn from an Underfell Sans, all the while the battle raged on before you. You couldn't help but wonder to yourself about where the heck the other two members of the starry-boi squad were at. Shouldn't they be here helping their friend?

You shrugged at the thought and grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed it into your mouth.

Welp, not like it matters to you either way, this ain't your problem. But damn if it ain't interesting. The Voices even stopped their arguing and joined you in watching the fight.

**_"You know, Error, you could get in there and help. Dream seems like he really needs backup right now."_ **

"No thanks. I'm fine right here."

**_"How about you join the other two then? Isn't Dust one of your so-called 'friends'?"_ **

"Err, I guess. But he ain't really a _friend_ per se. He's more along the lines of being a close acquaintance. And besides, he and Horror are doing just fine on their own. They don't need me. Neither side does."

 **_"You are very unreliable."_ **

"Yes. Yes, I am. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. Oh look, here comes Inky-Ink. Bout time he showed up, eh?"

 **_"How about you–"_ **

"Nope."

**_"Just–"_ **

"Nope. Shut it and watch the 'feed already, will ya?"

**_" . . ."_ **

  
  



	3. In which things go south

Your eyes sparkled as you gazed up into the cosmos above you.

This AU, Outertale, was the embodiment of everything humanity had ever wished to experience. To witness the universe in motion, to be a part of something much bigger than yourself.

It was mind-boggling. 

Never in your life would you've thought you would be one of those fortunate enough to see it firsthand. Sure, it wasn't the one back home. It wasn't the same sky, the same stars, but it was still _space._ You were actually here, standing in space, and it's absolutely glorious! All the galaxies and colors... it was very much akin to that of paint on a canvas. Whoever made this world had put so much passion into making it come to life. Truly remarkable. A respectable artist worthy of admiration. 

One day you're going to find this person and slap them upside the head with so much love it'll make them puke rainbows.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught your attention. 

"error."

"Hmm," you hummed back in response.

"are you finished yet?"

You blink. Then blink again.

Finished with– oh!

"Whoops!" You rubbed the back of your neck. "Uh, sorry, give me a moment!" 

You popped open the lid of the jar you just remembered holding. You dumped the contents of it into your hand and with a flick of your wrist threw it into the air. It danced around before being scattered away by a gust of wind. You grabbed the handle of the empty wagon by your side and turned and grinned up at the monster beside you.

The monster was a skeleton by the name of Oort. He was a battle-worn Outertale Sans with cracked scars that ran from his fractured, glowing, left eyesocket to the back of his lower jaw.

"what was in the jar?" Oort questioned you with a raised browbone.

"Anger, scorn, and lack of common sense."

"so... shredded paper."

"Yes."

"and you threw it into space."

"Yup."

"...alrighty then." He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned on his heel. "if you're done, let's head back. swan should be done sorting by now."

And he was. As the two of you approached the nearby rock face, the form of said skeleton came into view.

The fur along the collar of Swan's vest was puffed up, his magic reacting to his anxiety as he went over your boxes of supplies excessively.

Swan perked up when he heard you and Oort approaching.

"Oh, there you are! I was just wondering where you two went off to." He noticed the wagon and grinned semi-hysterically. "And it seems that you've brought a wagon! Marvelous! Here, here. Pass it to me."

With a sigh, you hand the wagon over to him. 

You stood there watching Swan run back and forth, screeching like a mother bird until Oort finally came shuffling over.

"swan, please, ya need to calm," he said, placing a hand on his datemate's arm.

"I can't calm! My baby's returning to his white hell and I need to make sure he's prepared!"

"i understand that, but panicking ain't going to solve anything."

"But- but–"

"shh. calm..."

The two stared silently for about a minute. 

Swan let out a shaky sigh.

"Okay. Okay, you're right," he sniffled and rubbed his watering eyes. He reached down and picked up Oort, making the smaller skeleton yelp. Oort took a moment to stabilize himself before patting Swan's shoulder.

"everything's gonna be okay." 

At some point, you had wandered over to your supply boxes and started putting them in the wagon. Noticing this, Oort looked at you.

"couldn't wait?" He asked with an amused expression.

You dropped another in with a "Nope".

Oort sighed and shook his head, a small smile slowly spreading across his face.

.

.

.

"Thanks for letting me stay here for a few days. Really appreciate it." You said as you opened up your portal home with your free hand, the handle of your now neatly sorted wagon in the other.

"no prob," Oort, who was now back on the ground, waved you off. "paps was gone for a few days anyway, and you really looked like ya needed some time away from that white space of yours."

"Yeah, I really did," you nodded. "Thanks." 

You began approaching your doorway. But just as you were about to go through, a loud "Wait!" stopped you in your tracks. Startled, the wagon handle fell from your grip. You whipped around just in time for Swan to shove something big into your arms. Puzzled, you held out what had been given to you. 

It was a light and dark brown zip-up hoodie with sleeves that cut off at the elbows. The hood and interior were lined with fluffy yellow fur.

Your pupils grew large.

...

Swan fidgeted. "Do you think he likes it? Should we have gotten him the blue one instead?"

"ya kidding? just look at those _starry-eyes_. error loves it." Oort replied.

Oort was right. You did love it. Up until now, besides for your glasses and blue scarf, all you had to wear was a plain old white T-shirt and red sweatpants as you had (somehow) lost almost all the original clothing this body had come with. You still don't understand what even happened to them. All you did was take them off to change. You did NOT expect them to suddenly _fall upwards_ and get _consumed_ by the nest of blue strings hanging above you. And don't even get you started on how you lost those damn slippers…

So yeah, you were quite happy to receive this new article of clothing. 

Tears welled up in the corner of your sockets. You blinked them away.

"This… this is wONDerful. I lOve it. ThANk you so mUch guys." Your voice glitched. Usually you would be embarrassed about that, but right now you didn't care. You swiftly put on the hoodie and zipped it up.

You coughed awkwardly into a fist.

"weLl, I really shOUld geT going now." You paused as your glitching died down. "And, uh, again. Thanks." 

"Bye, darling!"

"yeah," Oort gave you a grin. "come visit again soon, alright?"

You returned their goodbyes with a grin of your own. "I will." 

And with that you stepped inside the portal. You gave your friends one last glance before closing it. A sigh escaped past your teeth. You looked around your mess of a home.

There were paper and art supplies scattered everywhere, and when you say everywhere you mean literally _everywhere._ Things were even hanging from the ceiling! But, hey, this was normal in the Anti-Void. Gravity would sometimes go wonky and things would fall away. Up, down, sideways, didn't matter. Luckily for you, they don't usually go very far. Most of the time they just get tangled up in the string-nest, and the things that don't just kind of drifted around for a bit before finally falling back to the floor.

This place was trippy as hell, but you're used to it.

You grabbed the wagon handle and walked deeper into the white abyss. You swerved around a few stacks of books before coming to a stop. 

A mattress hung above you, wrapped up in several layers of string. Another victim of the Anti-Void's weirdness that you never bothered to correct.

And, since you haven't put it back on the ground, wouldn't that technically make it an _air_ mattress?

You snickered.

Okay, now what to do with the wagon? You honestly didn't feel like dealing with it right now, so…

Your eyes drifted into a derp, and you gave a half-shrug. Putting a foot on the wagon, you kicked it in a random detection. Your face split into a grin when you heard it knock over a couple paint cans.

The Voices weren't gonna be happy about that when they returned. For being a bunch of disembodied weirdos, those guys sure were cleansy.

"Heh."

They can go swallow a Lego.

Pleased with yourself and your ability to piss people off, you made your way over to the strings dangling near your bed. You grabbed hold of one and tugged on it, testing its strength. Satisfied that it was going to hold your weight, you pulled yourself up and climbed.

Your sockets were closed almost as soon as you laid down.

And then nothing.

* * *

You awoke with a start. Sitting up you looked around with a hand clenching your chest. 

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. There was a strange sensation within your chest. Where was it coming from? Your heart? No, not heart. You don't have one of those anymore.

It was coming from your Soul.

It was twitching frantically, and the feeling you were experiencing from it could only be described as that of electrified nails on a chalkboard. Except this wasn't a chalkboard, it was your Soul, and by God do you want it to STOP.

A wave of static washed over you, and an unknown sound tore through the silence. You let out a sharp gasp and fell over the side of your bed. Hitting the ground, you rubbed your face and looked around. You spot the source of your sudden spook.

You got up and slowly made your way over, growing more uneasy with what you saw.

Somehow, a portal had opened on its own. Well, not exactly a portal. It was more of a tear than anything.

You cocked your head to the side. Curiosity getting the better of you, you reached and forced the tear the rest of the way open. You stumbled and fell back with a yelp when a cloud of shredded numbers hit you in the face. 

Streams of broken code flowed in, spreading around the Anti-Void before disappearing into nothing. 

You watch all this happen before turning your attention back to the new opening. You pulled yourself to your feet and made your way over.

However, you were not ready for what you saw.

Both Monsters and Humans alike ran for their lives from a wall of blazing fire consuming all in its wake. You could not look away as life after life was taken by its inferno.

Red-colored dust scattered in the wind, bringing with the scent of burnt popcorn.

You were going to be sick...

  
  


A flash of color caught your eye. A monster.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


You had to help.

You had to save one. Just. One.

  
  


But this isn't your problem.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


No... this wasn't your problem… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


But it sure as hell going to be!

It happened so fast. One minute you were standing there, watching the world burn away, and the next your fingers were digging themselves into your sockets and pulling away strands of thin blue strings.

Your digits twitched as you wrap more around your fingers. Then–

_snap_

The strings whipped inside the tear at high speed. The fleeing monster didn't have time to react. With a grunt, you pulled him though.

He hit the floor with a hard thud. Neither of you moved as you watched the last to his world fade away into nothing…

Then, there was nothing left.

Just.

White.

You blinked. "WeLp-p-p. tHAt… wAs so-oMeTHing." 

Your knees were shaking and you felt like you were going to throw up. 

"yUp. SOmEtHINg."

Your eyes wandered down to the blue strings you had wrapped around your fingers. They followed along until they came to rest on the monster you had tied up in them.

It was an Underswap Sans. 

Who was now looking at you with murder in his eyes. 

"... Uh-oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you in part by: screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. And rewrites. God help me.
> 
> And yes, I changed the story name.
> 
> Let me know if I missed anything editing wise. Had to post this fast.


	4. Counterproductive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the A/N at the end. Please. It would be very much appreciated.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

You dodged left and right, barely avoiding debris and the skeleton pursuing you.

That skeleton? Swap Sans. With a freaking huge ass warhammer.

You ducked as he took a swing at where your head was just moments before. The stuff behind you was demolished and scattered in all directions.

"HOLD STILL!!!"

Holy shit, you’re going to die. Killed by a crazy pissed off hammer-welding Sans. What the even fuck. How is this your life?

How are you going to get out of this?

Your hanging mattress came into view.

That's how.

You dived for the strings dangling near the floor. It swung you around as you climbed faster than you ever thought you could. Crawling on the bed, you reached for a couple others acting as ropes and pulled the mattress, and yourself, out of the hammer's range.

All fell silent, until the Swap screamed, "Why are you hiding?!”

You poked your head over the edge. Down below you he stood, pupils glowing bright and his weapon held in a death grip.

"I'M nOt hiDiNG! I'm juSt... aVoiDINg ConFRonTatiOn," you answered him.

"What?" He stood there, processing what you just said, before shaking his head and readjusting his stance. "Get down here and fight me!"

That look on his face...

It looks 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


demonic.

  
  


With a heavy sweat, you leaned back so only your sockets could be seen.

"Nah I wOuld like to liVe, thAnK you VerRy much," you mumbled in a low tone.

"Fight. Me." 

"NoPe."

You two held a silent stare off, watching and daring the other to move.

The Swap, finally, broke eye contact. His grip on his weapon loosened a bit as he lowered his head. 

"You…" he shivered, making his bones rattle.

"You've destroyed my home. You've killed everything I ever… you killed…" He shook his head before raising it with unshed tears glistening in his sockets. "Yet you keep running away and refusing to fight me. Why?"

Nope, no crying. We ain't having that. Not here. Not in your Anti-Void. Nope nope. 

You need to end this now.

"LoOk, sWaPPy, I just SAVED you," you said. "I don't knOw what kind of off-the-wall fucked up pLaCE you just cAme from, but TyPicalLy people don't fight thOsE they just saved. Kind of counTeRprodUctive don't you thiNk?"

"Counterproductive? I… I don't understand." The Swap Sans, who you've now dubbed Swappy from now until the end of infinity, rubbed his head with a furrowed brow.

"WHaT isn't theRe to underSTaNd? I. Don't wAnt. To FigHt."

"But you've never turned down a chance to fight one of us! You've never hesitated before!"

You squint. "Us?"

Swappy threw his free hand in the air. "Us! The Star Sanses! Who else?"

The Star Sanses? What do they have to do with – oh. _Oh!_

"WAit, yOu're _that_ Swap?" 

But he can't be! The Swap that stood before you looked nothing like the one you've come to associate with the Stars.

You took a moment to survey his appearance.

His bones looked darkened and covered in soot, and his blue bandana was practically gone. What was left of it was but a small bit of scorched cloth barely held together by stitches. His... _everything_... stunk to high heavens too! You could freaking smell him from up here! It was that same scent that you had smelt coming from the tear.

He smelt like burnt popcorn. 

With the way his pupils were wavering and kept flickering in and out, and the way you now noticed he would periodically brush his hands across his soot-covered arms with a look of grief and absolute disgust…

Your eyes wandered down. You then noticed it, there was something wrapped around his waist. It was badly damaged, and covered in that soot-y stuff, but you could clearly recognize it as an orange hoodie.

Didn't… didn't he have a brother that wore an orange hoodie? One that looked exactly like that?

You were starting to sense a pattern here. A pattern that wasn't painting a very pretty picture. 

That stuff all over his arms and clothes. 

That wasn't actually soot, was it? 

This was starting to make you sick to your stomach all over again. Metaphorically, of course. You don't have a stomach. Maybe. Do you? No wait, this isn't the time to question the biology of magical skeletons! Focus!

“Stop playing dumb, Error," Swappy snapped, "you know who I am!"

"... Not personally." Finally feeling brave enough, you shifted into a sitting position. "I've been watching you and your weirdly colorful friends through my windows for a while now. A year? Maybe? I'm not really sure, but I thought you guys seemed really cool.” You frowned. “Well, that was until I finally got the chance to meet one of you and y'all up and decided to falsely accuse me of mass murder and chase me around with your oversized hammer."

You surveyed your broken stuff with a grimace.

"Speaking of which, you owe me for all the stuff you just broke. It took me forever to find a fridge that actually works here!" You turn your eyes back to Swappy. "I expect payment within the next few weeks. Or else I'm stealing all your clothes and replacing them with something undesirable."

"Undesira–" he paused. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Moo-ybe."

"... Was that a pun? I somehow feel like that was a pun."

"Eh," you shrugged.

Swappy stared. He kept staring until his sockets suddenly grew wide.

“Oh my stars. You really don't know who I am, do you?"

"Nope, sorry. Am I supposed to?"

There was a sparkle of blue-colored magic. Swappy's hammer disappeared from his hands as he trembled and dropped to his knees.

"Uh, Swappy?"

"Ohhh no. Oh no-no-no no."

"Swappy? Hey dude, are you okay?" 

He looked as if he just got punched in the gut. He let out a loud sound somewhere between a groan and a wail.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo…………"

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I'm so so SO sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I had run into a MAJOR problem.  
> I had somehow lost almost all my original notes and plans for this story! 
> 
> I don't understand what happened. I still don't. I think there was a glitch somewhere… funny, am I right? I feel like this is some kind of cosmic joke. Anyway, I was so mad that I refused to even look at my docs for months.
> 
> But I got over it. Life moves on. I used what little notes I had left and rewrote my plans for this. So yeah, things are going to go very differently now and things I may have said in the comments may no long be canon. I”M SO SORRY.
> 
> The good news is I now have more to work with! A LOT more!  
> I have made this into an entire original Multiverse!  
> A Multiverse centered around a single promise....
> 
> WBU also has cover art now too.
> 
> One more thing! I have a few questions for you all.  
> What kind content would you like to see from the Promiseverse? Would you like to see art? Character profiles on how they look and act? Ships? Please leave your thoughts, I would like to hear what you think!
> 
> Toodles~


	5. Comforting Touch

The Anti-Void echoed with the sound of your footsteps as you paced back and forth across the floor. You periodically stopped to look at Swappy, who was laying a little ways away curled up into a fetal position and staring blank-eyed off into the distance.

He had become completely unresponsive. You've tried everything you could think of to snap him out of it. Bells, whistles, pots & pans. Hell, you even brought out your fireworks! But still. Nothing. He just continued to stare off into the distinct horizon. 

And, if things weren't already bad enough, your personal tormentors had decided to up and show their metaphorical faces.

 **_"Let's try the fireworks again!"_ **

Per usual, they weren't being very helpful. 

You tuned them out and continued to pace.

* * *

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

_crunch_

A hand waved in front of your face.

"error?"

"Hmm," you turned your attention to the monster beside you.

There, Oort sat with a half-full bottle of ketchup. Swan stood a little ways away washing the dishes.

"something wrong," Oort asked you with a raised brow.

"Nah, nothing's wrong," you lied. "Why'd you ask?"

"you're eating the silverware."

You paused. Slowly, you pulled out of your mouth… a… fork. At least, you think it was a fork. It also could have been a spoon at some point as well. Or a knife. Or anything.

Noticing the scraps scattered across the table, your face heated up.

"Sorry." You sheepishly set the mangled utensil off to the side.

Oort pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "error, look. i've known you for almost a year now. admittedly, i don't know everything about you. but i do know enough to know that you don't usually turn our house into an improvised snack unless something was really bothering you." 

He drummed his fingers against the tabletop. He locked his pupils with yours. "what's wrong." He finished with an air of seriosity.

You shifted in your seat, shrinking away subconsciously from Oort's intensive gaze.

"...I just…" You averted your eyes with a frown.

What do you say to him? You want to tell him what was going on, but you can't just outright say that you have a member of the Stars laying traumatized and unresponsive on the floor of your Anti-Void. Knowing Oort, he would jump to conclusions. What those conclusions would be, you do not know. But it wouldn't end well, for anyone. You really don't wanna be the cause of another "Mettaton Incident". 

Usually, you would just feed him some bull and call it a day. However, this was Oort, and Oort is incredibly good at reading the people around him. He could probably sniff out a lie from even the most professional of liars.

But, maybe, however… you don't _need_ to lie to him. If you string your words just right, you could make him think that this was just a "what if" situation. Sprinkle in some bit of half-truths and he'll never be able to tell the difference. 

Hopefully. 

"Let's just say that someone was, hypothetically, having a… a bad time," you said carefully. "This person had just lost something very dear to them. How would you comfort this person? Make them feel better and all that."

Oort went silent, eyes wide and a coat of sweat dripping down his brow.

Looking between you and Swan, who had just finished putting away the dishes, Oort made a frantic gesture towards you. Swan in return gave him an unamused glare and came over. He pulled out the chair across from you and sat down. Reaching into his vest, he brought out a bag of homemade butterscotch candies. Oort quickly snatched a few as soon as they were on the table.

Leaning back, he folded his hands in front of him.

"Sweetie," he began, "when it comes to comforting others... it… can be a bit complicated. Especially when said others are incredibly stubborn and make it a habit of rejecting outside help." He gave both you and Oort his _"I know that you're hiding something from me"_ look, making the both of you flinch.

He continued. "What may help for one person, may do the complete opposite for another. In my experience, if that person has just lost someone dear to them, all you can really do is be there for them as they grieve their loss. Offer them hugs and a shoulder to cry on."

Oh.

That's… gonna be a problem.

"I see," you said, "are there any other options?"

Swan and Oort shared a look.

"Other options?"

* * *

It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, the resident Sans of this timeline, Science, was where he was every Saturday.

Not in his lab. 

Which made what you were about to do a lot easier.

In the center of the room, a softly glitching portal opened. You poked your head through. With a quick peak around, you deemed it safe enough and stepped through.

The first thing you noticed about Sci's lab was the smell. It's been a long time since you had smelt it, but you could recognize the smell of coffee anywhere. How could you not though? Back in your home universe, you had a cabinet full of it. It wasn't for you, however. No, it was for your roommate. Your best friend. He has an obsession with that stuff.

You don't understand what all the hype is about. Why do so many people like it? It's just caffeinated bean water, what is so great about it?

… What does it taste like?

You shook your head and turned your attention back to the goal at hand. 

You weren't here for coffee. You were here for something else.

Based on the lead you had gotten from the StarHearts, there should be something in this lab that Sci had recently purchased that could be helpful. What this thing is, however, you do not know. Apparently you'll "know it when you see it". 

What are you even looking for? How will you "know it"? You barely even know what's going on half the time!

And so, without any clue in the world on what you are here for, you began your search.

The bookshelves were a no. Just a bunch of science-y mumbo-jumbo. The filing cabinets were also a no go. But you did find a rather… intriguing photo of that Fell Sans you're always stealing crap from. 

Blackmail material. But what kind of cruel, sick person would take advantage and use this as leverage over poor old Sci? Horrible! Detestable!

You pocketed it for later.

Okay now, where were you. 

After about what you guessed was an hour, you finally found what you were looking for– on his desk. 

It was a book.

You picked it up and read the title.

Sans 101: Trauma Edition.

Huh. Interesting. Why would Sci buy a book like this? From what you've seen and heard, he doesn't seem like he's suffering from any kind of trauma. Quite the opposite in fact. So why…?

You shook your head.

You know what? Whatever. You don't care. You didn't come here to question the nerd. You came here to take the nerd's shit, and dammit, take the nerd's shit you're going to do!

After taking a few more of his things, you returned to the Anti-Void.

You dumped the new stuff with your old stuff before walking over and sitting down in front of your guest.

You opened the book and began reading. "Chapter 1: So you're Sans is traumatized. Now what?"

After a while, you had read though almost half of the book, and with it you had come to an uncomfortable conclusion.

You sighed. 

Comforting touch it is. Welp, whatever gets him out of here faster.

You set the book off to the side. You scouted your way over the Swappy. Now a foot away from him you, slowly, reached your hand to touch his shoulder.

You hesitated.

You've… you've haven't touched anyone in such a long time. It's been long that in fact, at this point, you've almost completely forgotten what the touch of another person felt like. 

You don't want to do this. You really, really don't. What if you mess it up? What if you do something wrong? What if you... hurt him?

...

No! No chickening out! You've come this far. You've got to see this through, especially if you want this terrifying hammer-welding skeleton out anytime soon.

Trembling, you cracked what you hoped was a comforting smile.

"Umm," you said, "there... there? Everything’s gonna be okay?"

Gently, you laid your hand on Swappy's shoulder.

  
  


And.

Then.

  
  
  


**PAIN.**

  
  


You let out a glitched scream and yanked your hand away as if you just got scalded. You scurried away as far from Swappy as you could. You curled into a ball, hyperventilating.

"B _Ur_ **N** _B_ u _r_ N **bUR** n b **U** _r_ **N** **B** _u_ **R** ** _n_** _!_ "

ERROR engulfed your vision, taking away your sight and leaving you in only pure agony and darkness...

Darkness.

  
  


Only.

Darkness.

  
  
  
  
  


——

——

——

**[ERROR.EXE HAS CRASHED]**

  
  


. . .

  
  


**[REBOOTING…]**

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**[REBOOT COMPLETE]**

  
  


You gasped for air as you returned to consciousness. Panting and shivering, you laid there trying to wrap your head around what just happened.

Rolling on your back you held your trembling hands up in front of you. You flinched when a small wave of glitches danced across your body. With a pained groan you covered your face with your arm.

Note to self. Never ever, ever, EVER touch, or LET yourself be touched, by another person EVER. FUCKING. **AGAIN.**

There’s gotta be another way. One that _doesn't_ involve an ungodly amount of pain.

Time for Plan B.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooky! Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Made some changes as you can tell. Such as nicknames. I forgot to mention last time but I had changed Promise's appearance (AKA clothing). His design is now finalized and there will be no more changes involving that. I also changed the cover art (beware a spoiler). Oort also has some small changes.
> 
> One more thing! I'm not sure if a lot of people know, but I do have a Tumblr. I post a lot of Promiseverse related content including art and lore there. If you have any questions the Ask Box is open as well.
> 
> Hope your ready for the next chapter. It will be.... intense.


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